The government will set up a working group to reach a “technical and structural solution” to change the IMI code relating to the assessment of dams, the finance minister announced this Wednesday at a parliamentary hearing.
This working group “will be coordinated by an independent and academically impeccable person” who has yet to be selected, said Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, adding that it will include organizations such as the Tax and Customs Authority (AT), the Portuguese Environment Agency, authorities, representing the assessors, the National Laboratory of Energy and Geology, the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering, the National Association of Municipalities and the Portuguese Association of Renewable Energy.
The purpose of this working group is to present a solution to change the IMI code in order to establish clear rules for assessing water use, the minister explained.
“We intend to submit the change to the IMI code to Parliament before the end of the year and, if the Assembly of the Republic approves, the IMI for 2025 paid in 2026 will already comply with the new rules,” he said.
Regarding the specific case of paying taxes on the sale of six dams in the Douro by EDP to Engie, as well as the position of the previous government, the minister did not want to comment, but added that, from the point of view of the current leader, the existing orders are not enough and further clarification is required.
“This is a process for which the prosecutor’s office has decided to open a criminal case, and there is an understanding that until it is completed,” AT cannot decide whether to regulate this tax or not, stressed Joaquim Miranda Sarmento.
The minister said the focus was on the tax authorities, but “there are other organizations involved and responsibility certainly lies with several, not just AT.”
Joaquim Miranda Sarmento also added that the tax authorities have “already registered 169 water projects in the matrix” and regulated IMI from 2019 to 2022.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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